Financing till I get first salary

[virtua]

Hi guys,

I have some problem with money and I doubt that I could buy enough US dollars with my country`s poor currency, since it has been devaluated quite a lot. So, let`s say I got admitted and get an assistantship, I will get my first salary probably after 1 month, right? So, I will need some money for the 1st month; so, I was thinking if I could take some loan for the 1st month till I get my first salary, but keep in mind that I`m an international student. Is that possible? I actually, have US bank account.

[fuzzylogician]

When you get paid depends on the school, but in my experience often fellowships are paid at the beginning of the month and salaries at the end of the month (or sometimes every 2 weeks). So yes, there is often a period of a few weeks at the beginning of a new program where you might not get paid yet. 

If you could get a loan would depend on the bank, we can't really answer that. You'd need to go into your branch and speak with someone to get a better idea of your options. Another thing you could look into and would again depend on your particular situation is getting a credit card with 0% interest for the first X months and putting some debt on it that you'd repay as soon as you got your first paycheck. And one last thing to look at (actually, I would start with this) is whether the school itself has a plan for helping students get settled in. Some schools will offer a 0% interest loan to new students to be repaid in X months, and if you can get that, it's probably your best bet. That you be something to ask your department and/or student union. 

I am confused, though, because given that you had to leave your current program, you would have also had to leave the States by now. Is this purely a hypothetical?